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Scary Ned posted:
This is amazing. I doubt mine would have ever been able to build something like that-but then why bother when there's a perfectly good pot of grit right there  I uncovered Ohtori and Steve one hour early at the beginning of this week, just because, and for every other day so far Ohtori has started yelling one hour earlier than usual. Steve of course just sits there in silence as long as he's covered, except for making a single WEOOO noise when my partner leaves for work and the door closes.
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Oct 26, 2012 12:58
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:I'm at my boyfriend's house, when I get home Monday I'll post a photo dump of Amadeus. Zomodok posted:No other pet will love you like your conure will. This is all lies, conures are nothing like that.  ... 
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Oct 26, 2012 20:00
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Guess I'll throw in my 2p: This is Ohtori Maximus Loki BattlePigeon. He is   'Tori is... certainly an opinionated little beast, if nothing else. He does not do a lot of the cute/awesome stuff that other conures in here do, which I won't lie, is somewhat disappointing. No idea if it's just him, or Blue-Throats in general-other Pyhurra seem to be similar to GCCs, so I don't know why Blue-throats would be different. When he was younger he used to sit on my shoulder and cuddle against my neck for a nap, but now he only stays put if I'm walking between rooms. Otherwise, he isn't really affectionate at all. He prefers my partner a lot more than me, but still doesn't really cuddle with them either, though he will sit on the shoulder and chill... sometimes. He was a bit more friendly when he was clipped, but my partner really prefers him flighted, so we never got him clipped again. A lot of this may be due to him currently going through puberty, but I wouldn't bet on him changing much afterwards. He does however still like to lie in my left hand and get his pin feathers preened, at least for a while. He doesn't talk, doesn't dance, and doesn't really like Steve. Sometimes, like in the bathroom, they'll flirt with each other a bit, but Ohtori has no patience and will chase Steve off. From the little information about Blue-throats out there, this isn't unusual. He loves baths and showers, and will eat anything and everything. Getting him to try new things was never a problem, it's harder to stop him from eating everything. He is very tolerant of us doing things he doesn't like, unless that's filing his nails. He never, ever bites hard enough to draw blood, and doesn't really bite very hard unless really pissed (again, such as when having nails filed). He is definitely capable as he would do it all the time when we first brought him home. I can pick him up in any way, hold him upside down, turn him around, flip him over, pull out his wings and mess with his feet-the worst he'll do is bitch and bite a bit. He is very quiet. He doesn't tend to bother making noise beyond quiet warking, if that. He will scream if you leave the room while he's closed in the cage, and will scream when we leave the apartment. Making a big show of telling them "bye bye" and closing the room door behind us limits this somewhat. He also makes a lot of noise when taking a bath, some noise when the shower is running, and has a special appreciative sound when he gets something extra tasty. That's about it. He likes to push limits of what he is and is not allowed to do. He never, ever comes when I call him, but will every time my partner calls for him. He constantly flies to places he shouldn't, and when told off enough times, will wait until your back is turned to do it again. He does the same with Steve-will constantly try to chase him, pause when warned, and wait until you aren't looking or very slowly advance, watching you the whole time, until you tell him No. Again, this might be due to birdy puberty, but I think it will continue to at least some degree throughout his life. If you want an obedient pet, a parrot is not for you. Pros: Eats everything, learns quickly, adorable as heck, very quiet, often hilarious, tolerant, loves new people Cons: Doesn't talk, isn't very affectionate, constantly tests and pushes boundaries, hates Steve, more destructive ------- And this magnificent beast is Steve Pending Rincewind. He is a lutino  Steve is a potato. There's honestly not really much to say about him-his favourite thing to do in the world is nap. Sometimes he'll whistle, but not often, and he isn't very good at it. He loves having his head petted, and hates being touched anywhere else. Toys aren't of much interest but he's always up for chewing on a toilet roll, or paper, or my wall calender. He isn't trained to do anything since he doesn't really respond to praise or have a food that he likes enough to use as a treat. Since Ohtori was seemingly actively trying to murder to him for months after he came home, he's not overly keen on 'Tori, but has stopped hissing at him so much and is happy for him to be near if he's not threatening. He often whistles and sings for 'Tori in particular situations, such as when they're both on the shower together. Pros: Sweet, quiet, easily entertained, not as destructive Cons: Not very interesting, slower to learn, much harder to persuade to eat new foods (or current liked foods other than seed), poops on people, a bit shy around new people
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Oct 26, 2012 22:30
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dopaMEAN posted:Since you mentioned that Steve poops on people, I have a question (maybe it could go in the OP): Can birds be toilet trained? Is it just some species? Are they easy to train, like cats and rabbits, or is it really difficult? Is there a standard way to do it? Yes they can, though it can take a lot longer for a cockatiel to learn compared to a conure (or whatever else). It's basically just a process of rewarding them when they poop where you want them to, and learning when they're about to do it so you can move them in time. They tend to go every 15 minutes, ish. You can try to combine it with a command ("go poop") so then they'll even go on command. Ohtori only shits on you if you've pissed him off, otherwise he holds it until he's elsewhere. Steve has started to back up and try to poop off you instead of just straight on you, but he's not very good at it.
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Oct 26, 2012 22:51
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It decided to drop to 0C and snow out of nowhere today, and Ohtori doesn't know what to make of this. He was quite happy to sit on my hand and watch the snow fall, and look at the crows outside bath in it. So much for taking him/them outside to see autumn leaves this weekend.
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Oct 27, 2012 12:31
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I'm not sure if Ohtori went out in the snow last year, he lived outside but if I remember correctly the whole aviary top was covered so no snow would have gotten in. If it gets warmer and the snow stays long enough I might take him out for a short while to see it. Since he's not used to 0C anymore he can't go out now, but maybe another time before winter hits. Or I could put him on his harness and open the window sideways so he can check out snow on the window ledge if any lands there 
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Oct 27, 2012 17:02
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Ohtori was fine alone and doesn't really seem to care either way if Steve is there or not, I have no idea if he'd like another conure but they'd probably get along better. However, I'm home most of the time-if he was to be alone for 8 or more hours, I probably would look into getting him a more compatible friend. I've been away for weeks at a time, so only my partner was around but going to work, so the birds were alone for 8+ hours during the week. They were clingy but seemed okay. Given things to do and lots of interaction time when you get home, it's doable, compared to say a macaw which might not be so adaptable. Clipping is quite a polarising topic, and no bird really "needs" to be clipped unless there are real safety concerns. Here in Europe clipping is uncommon and often even considered cruel. In the US, and I'd say UK, it's more acceptable. Birds can become more laid back after clipping, but they may also lose confidence. Flight is also great exercise and lets them get around much easier than climbing and running (which could be a problem itself). It's up to you-personally I'd say leave them flighted, unless there are real safety issues, or possibly if you want to try and curb aggressive tendencies should they arise.
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Oct 27, 2012 18:31
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Amaya posted:Does anyone else with two birds have experience with this? Are they both just getting to that age where they're going to be bitch-bird and bastard-bird for a while? I'm really not looking forward to bitey bird time to be honest. Finn lunged at Marceline and I intercepted it and got a good bite on my finger - only a pinprick but that's really bad for him, he never bites me. It was cute though because he instantly put his head down and looked super ashamed like "Sorry mommy that wasn't for you. Maybe just let them do what they will for a while, like not making them give each other kisses anymore, just let them approach each other when they want and praise for good interaction, seperate for poor. Make sure they have individual areas they can both go to, to have their own space, if it gets worse have individual time with them instead of both at once? Maybe it's due to Finn being hormonal, Marceline could be picking up on and responding to that. I don't suppose anyone knows any sites with free or cheap international shipping? All the US sites have the best stuff but most either don't ship internationally, or it's expensive.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:37
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Since he first came, I've been trying to teach Steve two new tunes, though it's slow going since he doesn't whistle much and stops for weeks at a time when molting. Apparently though he's slowly getting the hang of it-he's just whistling sections in the wrong order, and has a tendancy to add an extra WHEEOO at the beginning 
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Oct 29, 2012 01:20
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Aww, he's got a cute little stump tail. I like the stand full of lovebirds, and the cockatoo is adorable of course. Anyone got any idea of some other tricks I could teach to Ohtori? He knows step up, wave (which is really lifting his foot and clasping it around the end of his beak), turn around (spin), shake, and to ring a bell on a chain when I hold it and tell him Ring Ring for a bit of nut. He knows what Come Here means, but only responds to my partner. I'm not sure if he knows what Go Poop means, he gives us strange looks when we ask him, and he has done it a few times after hesitation but it could have been coincidence.
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Oct 29, 2012 16:32
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:Does he spread out for Eagle Wings? That's a popular one. And there's things like putting a ball in a cup or a ring on a peg--even if you don't want to hunt up trick supplies you can mess around with variations. I didn't think of that. He doesn't spread them out like cockatiels do (actually, I've only seen Steve do that once), so any idea how I could go about that? E: Went looking for articles instead, this one seems quite nice and in depth: http://trainedparrot.com/Wings/ Battle Pigeon fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 29, 2012 16:45
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I started teaching him Eagle, but after a while he got frustrated that waving/shaking/spinning wasn't getting him his nut so got bitey. He seems to not mind being made to lift his wings too much-I'm just touching him with a finger on each side, rather than pulling them out manually like some places were suggesting.Deadly Chlorine posted:EDIT: Ohtori is also flighted, right? You can teach him basic recall, flying to a perch and back to your hand for now. I think Carly Lu's flight blog is a good starter! He does know it, at least the coming part-he just point blank refuses to do it for me anymore.
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Oct 29, 2012 17:22
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I need to get me a Green Cheek or Black Capped. And a Quaker. And a Meyers. And a Grey and a Jardines and...
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Oct 30, 2012 03:07
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Deadly Chlorine posted:Man a lot of my friends' dream birds are like scarlet macaws, hyancinth macaws, palm cockatoos etc, but I'm a man of simple tastes, I just want a blue throated conure like Ohtori. Oh. Oh my.  Poop Cupcake posted:These threads are making me want a bird so bad. I lurked through the entire first bird crazy thread and now this one but I work full time and live in an apartment. Finches not your kind of thing either? I loved my zebra finches, obviously no comparison to a parrot but adorable as hell, fun to watch, and their cheeping was nice to listen to.
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Oct 30, 2012 15:58
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Deadly Chlorine posted:Indeed, when I saw his picture my heart just melted and I needed to have a blue throat conure. So adorable Older photos buuuut     
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Oct 30, 2012 17:16
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Green Cheeks can be loud, but nowhere near as loud as a cockatoo or macaw, etc. They're recommended for apartment dwellers. See if you can go somewhere where you can listen to them in person, and maybe even handle them. The little birds are capable of drawing blood too, even cockatiels, but birds that are treated well and who aren't naturally vicious assholes (rare) will not bite hard unless you're really pushing them. They'll quickly learn how much pressure to apply, and then will only beak you unless you piss them off in some way-like not respecting boundaries, or forcing them to do something, or they're furious and unable to reach what is making them angry so they'll redirect to you. Puberty will possibly make them more prone to getting annoyed or testing limits, but generally if you listen to their body language and don't put them in situations where they feel they have to bite, they usually won't.
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Nov 1, 2012 00:39
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Joe Don Baker posted:I've found a few nearby breeders with GCC's and I've inquired about them. What size cage would you recommend for one? My mom has a few cages sitting around which I could use instead of buying a new one. Minimum cage size is usually given as 18x18 or 20x20, but the bigger the better. No galvanised wire, round cages, etc. and keep in mind the things you may want to put inside-a Happy Hut can take up a fair amount of room, for example.
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Nov 1, 2012 14:32
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Steve is being a vicious potato today, biting when we try to move him from places he shouldn't be-and properly biting, hard, not the usual pathetic attempts 'tiels do. It's terrifying. No really Steve.Padje posted:having a snoozy D'awwwww. How old is he?
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Nov 1, 2012 17:15
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We feed Nutribird pellets to Ohtori, nothing else is sold here but they don't seem terrible, just not as good as Harrisons and the organic brands. Pretty much just mixed them in with his crappy seed mix of the time and he started eating them. He likes dunking them in his water, either to soften them or lick the water off afterwards, not sure as he sits and eats them dry too. I once brought from the UK a giant bag of Harrisons, but Ohtori wouldn't eat it (he didn't like it) so it all went to waste. I think Steve may like Harrisons, but not spending that much money on something to be wasted again, so will maybe get a little big or samples or something.
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Nov 2, 2012 13:27
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That corner looks awesome, I wish we had the space to do something like that. Maybe it would actually distract Ohtori for a while. He had a hazelnut shell and was quietly chewing it, and I took it from him so I could move him and it to the top of a cage. Putting it on the cage, it accidently fell through the bars-and Ohtori, who was previously chilled, instantly pinned his eyes and started banging his beak against my finger while bitching until I picked it up and gave it back. Only for him to instantly lose interest and drop it anyway.
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Nov 3, 2012 22:47
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Today we got up and took both the birds in the bathroom with us while we had our morning shower, which they normally are still covered for. Even though he'd just got up, and hadn't eaten breakfast yet, Ohtori still decided that since we were having a shower, he should too Scary Ned posted:Look what I found on the floor of the finch cage yesterday: As a Brit, I throw my vote in for Cheddar. Grumpy finch babies are the best, with their black beaks they look so drat cute.
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Nov 4, 2012 18:58
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The photos are different now, from what was shown earlier. These birds are very much alive and awake. I wonder if hanging a square of fleece (or other difficult to fray fabric) for them to snuggle against would be just as bad, or not. We're considering removing the hut to see if it cuts down on Ohtori's hormonal behaviour, but: -He looks really cute in it -Sleeps in it every night-clearly he really likes it -Never seen him try and chew/destroy it -While he does use it as a masturbation aid, he doesn't try and rub on anything else, including us. Maybe because he has that, so if it was removed, he'd have to find something else? -Keeps him warm and comfy when wanted But then there's the whole "possible risk of death" business, as well as potentially lowering his hormonal aggression/posturing/harassment of Steve when removed. Hmm.
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Nov 5, 2012 23:30
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marshmallard posted:There's a little note at the bottom re the photos: Ugh. Yeah, copyright is such a hassle and all, they would post them on Facebook so why can't we use them too??
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Nov 6, 2012 00:29
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Frogmanv2 posted:I thought cheese was bad for birds? Have I been denying Squirt treats all this time? It isn't really healthy since they can't really process dairy, but a little bit every now and then is fine. It's Steve's favourite food and Ohtori likes it a lot too. http://exoticpetvet.net/avian/dairy.html
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Nov 6, 2012 01:48
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Frogmanv2 posted:Would using cheese for clicker training treats be too much? Probably not if you use really small individual pieces and not too much overall, or just let him have one bite/nibble each time.
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Nov 6, 2012 02:07
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Ohtori is so drat squeaky and adorable some days it hurts. How am I supposed to take your rage seriously bird, when you sound like that?
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Nov 6, 2012 14:39
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I don't know if it's the same thing as the above, but Ohtori makes these breathy hisses while hitting something with his beak repeatedly when he's pissed. I like to pick him up quickly from the shower door (before he has a chance to run away) and put him on my shoulder while in the shower, though not in the stream, when he's shown no interest in bathing right then or even anger at the suggestion. He gets furious and the squeaky scolding can't come out fast enough Then he bites my ear while telling me about all the terrible things he'll do to me for what I've done until I put him back up on the shower door, where he'll sit and bitch to himself for a while.
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Nov 6, 2012 17:53
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We decided to remove Ohtori's hut, and he's quite unhappy about it. There were no frays or loose threads or anything, but then we haven't ever seen him chew on it, just bite and hold while he's doing his thing. We removed it mostly to see if it cuts down his bitey behaviours, and makes him less aggressive towards Steve. How long does Pyhurra puberty last again?
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Nov 6, 2012 22:15
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It's hours past midnight, Ohtori was covered long ago, but he's still climbing around the bars of his cage squeaking and bitching. I don't know if it's because we didn't take him to shower today, or because he has no hut to sleep in now, or both.
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Nov 7, 2012 01:46
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Ohtori continued to climb and bitch throughout the night, I could still hear him moving around at 4:30am. He used to sleep on a branch, and that same branch is still in his cage, so I don't know if it was due to not remembering how to perch and sleep that way, or just being upset.Deadly Chlorine posted:UPDATE Beautiful bird! The store here has toucans too, but I've never seen them so they must be kept downstairs or elsewhere. It's also not as nice as your store, from what I can see.
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Nov 7, 2012 15:05
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Do you think that if we only gave Ohtori the hut at night and removed it during the day, it would have any effect? My partner had to work last night until past 4am, including taking phonecalls, and Ohtori was rather distressed sounding that we were there and speaking but he was covered with no hut. We took him out around 3am to try and calm him down, then as he was going inside his hut (it was left on the side) we hung it back in his cage to see if that would help and yup, he went to bed and made no more sounds.Deadly Chlorine posted:Also, amazing cockatiel recovery story! A friend of mine took in an unweaned cockatiel who had gotten a pretty bad crop burn: That poor potato. It's amazing how well she recovered, considering how awful that injury looked and how delicate birds can be.
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Nov 8, 2012 15:53
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wtftastic posted:If birds are anything like dogs, now you've taught him that if he bitches and moans he'll get his way, especially with the hut. DarkHorse posted:Yup, be prepared for an even longer and more agonizing time if you commit to the idea of removing the happy hut. He can bitch all he likes, he's definitely not getting it during the day and he only got it last night because of working/talking in the same room he and his cage is in until past 4am. I don't think he was complaining so much about the hut, as that we were there and talking when it should have been bedtime. We felt bad for him and gave him the hut so he could get some sleep. He doesn't actually seem to care it isn't there during the day and we don't care if he bitches about it at night, so if he complains more it isn't a problem.  But we were wondering if it makes a difference if he only gets it at night, rather than not at all, since it would be nice for him to have a warm place during the cold winter here.
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Nov 8, 2012 20:22
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Opera Bitch posted:I'd say putting the hut in there right before you put him to bed would be a good idea since it give extra protection against drafts, he is already used to sleeping in it, and you are controlling when he gets it. He may be so used to sleeping in it that it might take a long time for him to learn how to sleep without it. He'll get used to the routine of taking it in and putting it back soon enough. Kenshin posted:If they're covering the cage drafts should be a non-issue They're both covered at night, but it can get cold in the apartment in winter. We're just taking out during the day for now and seeing if there's any difference. He came and sat on my shoulder for a while today which is unusual so who knows yet.
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Nov 9, 2012 20:15
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Deadly Chlorine posted:Adorable picture of the day: See, if these two can get along, why can't a Blue-throated conure and a cockatiel? To be fair, the aggression from Ohtori has changed from violent attacking and chasing to merely sexual harassment now... mostly.
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Nov 10, 2012 21:36
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Steve is apparently hellbent on eating (dried) poop lately. He's got a mixture of vegetables at all times that he picks at, his seeds, his cuttlefish and lime block, and gets bits of human food throughout the day so I don't think it's due to missing something in his diet. Just a derp being a derp?Deadly Chlorine posted:Hi, it was time for my weekly/biweekly bird outing again! Today's turnout wasn't that good because there was a Responsible Pet Ownership expo by AVA which a lot of other people went to instead, I didn't go because there were dogs and cats there and all my birds are tiny. Adorable. That GCC looks so small compared to Ohtori. And the parrotlet...
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Nov 11, 2012 20:52
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Captain Log posted:I think I am finally making progress with my drat potato. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva is the cockaderp that will not stop laying eggs and acting nesty. She was fine for a while, but I live in a tiny one bedroom apartment. The lights outside, even at night, always get in a bit. Are you covering her cage at night?
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Nov 12, 2012 21:35
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So how does the light get in? Are you sure that it is? I cover Steve's cage with black towels, and Ohtori has this big blanket/cover that was cheap from Ikea. As a human you can see some light through it but since they've got poor night vision it doesn't matter for him. Once they're covered I can have the lights in the room on and they don't know or care. The noise though, maybe that is bothering her. Could you put on some white noise, something to block it out perhaps?
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Nov 12, 2012 22:49
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Stressed feathers = feathers with stress bars on them, maybe? Or just a few ratty looking feathers? It's only been a few days so far of removing the Happy Hut during the day and putting it back when covering him up, but Ohtori actually sat in my hand for preening and pets a few times today and yesterday. Usually he just bites or hops out and will only settle/allow preening if he's lying on his back in my left hand. I don't know if it's linked or not, but maybe? So far he isn't attempting to mate with anything else in the absence of his hut, and as far as I could hear he's only done it once after being covered up. I'm guessing that should have an effect on his behaviour too. Though he did try and chase Steve earlier, (Steve was waddling after 'Tori while offering his best heart wings, 'Tori was shuffling backwards, they ended up doing this in a tight circle), apparently attempting to back up on to him...
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Nov 13, 2012 01:34
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A year ago today, after about seven hours in a little cage in a box travelling across the country in sub-zero temperatures and not complaining once, this little beast arrived home.   He demanded our food the first time he saw it, and has done so ever since. (How crappy that cage setup looks now)
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Nov 13, 2012 22:02
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We just kept offering things to Steve, and one day he started nibbling like he'd always been doing it. He's still rather picky about things and some days won't touch his veggie bowl at all, but it's just a matter of patience and persistance. Possibly with bribery mixed in.
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Nov 14, 2012 14:20
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